The presence of animal faeces in public areas, such as on footpaths, roads, neighbourhoods and public parks is unsightly and unsanitary. Many communities have enacted regulations or laws requiring pet owners to take responsibility for their pets, and in particular, to remove any faeces deposited by their pets and to dispose of it appropriately and in a sanitary manner. Failure to comply with such regulations or infringement of such laws can result in the pet owner being penalised, typically with a fine.
A number of devices have been invented and marketed to address this issue. In general, these devices are designed to collect, transport and dispose of the pet faeces in a near-by bin. These devices are commonly referred to as pooper scooper devices.
The most simple faeces collection takes the form of small plastic disposable bags, which a pet owner employs to pick up the faeces. The pet owner simply places their hand in one such bag, thereby employing said bag as a protective glove, before manually picking up the faeces, turning the bag inside out to hold the faeces within the bag, closing the bag and then disposing of same.
While this method advantageously, does not significantly burden the owner with an additional awkward, unsightly piece of equipment to carry, there is a significant psychological drawback with this methodology, as the owner indirectly feels the texture, and warmth of the faeces, which is unpleasant and embarrassing. Furthermore, an unobserved perforation in a collection bag, exposes the responsible pet owner directly to contamination by the faeces, which is unsanitary, and may cause infection such as bacterial infection or parasitic infection.
Pooper scooper devices of various shapes and sizes have been developed, to distance the device user from the faeces, while also enabling effective removal and disposal of said faeces. A drawback associated with many of these devices is that during use, they become soiled and thus must be disposed, carried after use and may have to be washed after each use.
Some devices comprise a long handle with a scoop at the end of said handle, with which the user scoops up the faeces or employs another object such as rake or other suitable device to push the faeces into the scoop.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,600 describes a pooper scooper comprising a scooping tray, pivotally attached to a handle, the tray comprises a waste exiting window through which the animal faeces can drop into a disposable bag, when the tray is tilted upwards. The front end of the tray comprises forks which enable the user to collect animal waste in deep grass or weeded areas.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,550,512 describes an alternative device which in use is employed to capture the pet faeces during the defecation process. The device comprises an elongated foldable pole, a releasable locking mechanism, and a pivotable waste collecting assembly adapted to hold a bag open to catch pet droppings during defecation. The collection assembly comprises a facility for automatically closing the bag into which the faeces has been deposited by the pet, by pulling a drawstring on the bag, thereby closing the bag. The closed bag containing the faeces, can then be disposed of appropriately by the operator.
A plethora of alternative pooper scooper devices have been designed and marketed, which comprise a long handle and scooping device configuration. A significant disadvantage of such devices, is the inconvenience and awkwardness to the user of having to carry said devices with an inability to do so discretely.
In order to address this drawback, several smaller devices have been developed.
US Patent Publication No. 2009315349 describes a pooper scooper device comprising a collection bag having a waste removal tool, attached to the closed bottom of said bag. The waste removal tool includes a pair of jaws which can be moved from an open position to a closed position. The user employs the device in a grabbing action to scoop up the faeces into the waste removal tool. The entire tool and bag are then disposed of. In a further embodiment, the device is placed inside the bag, such that the waste removal tool is not in direct contact with the faeces. The jaws of the device terminate in a blade portion, designed to urge the faeces into the bag. The users hand is no longer required for manual pick up and thus a used is protected from the unpleasant tactile experience, described above, which is associated with employing only a bag as a protective glove, when manually picking up animal faeces.
US Patent Publication No. 2009072558 similarly describes a disposable pooper scooper device. The device includes a plastic bag with handles attached to a cardboard shovel blade. The plastic bag is open at the end opposite the shovel blade. The open end of the bag is partially turned inside-out as it slips over the operator's hand and up the wrist and forearm. Once the animal waste is shovelled up, in a grabbing action between opposing blades, the bag is pulled completely inside out over the mouth of the shovel completely encapsulating the blade and faeces. The open end of the bag can then be tied off and the bag disposed of.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,268 similarly describes a pooper scooper comprising a tray attached to the closed end of a bag, which device comprises two opposing sidewalls which are employed to shovel up faecal deposits using a grabbing action. The bag is then peeled over the device and the entire device, comprising the faeces is disposed of.
US Patent Publication No. 2014152031 describes a pooper scooper device comprising a handle for storing a plurality of disposable bags, a stem extending from the handle and including a bore for receiving the bags and a plurality of pivotable fingers that are pivotally movable relative to the stem. A disposable bag is pulled through the bore of the stem and the open end of the bag is pulled beyond and folded over the fingers. The operator can actuate an actuating mechanism that operates to pivot the fingers between closed and open positions. The device scoops up the faeces into the bag using a grabbing action. The bag comprising the faeces is then tied off and disposed of by the operator. A disadvantage associated with the device of US2014152031 is the abundance of component parts, including many moving parts, the expense associated with manufacturing the device, and the size of the device is such that it is too large for the operator to carry discretely.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,216,905 describes a disposable pooper scooper device comprising a claw mechanism including a first set of arcuately formed finger members and a second opposing set of arcuately formed finger members that are displaced from each other in a longitudinal direction. A bag is attached to the claw mechanism. The operator whose hand is inserted into the bag, operates a pair of actuating members which provide actuation of the arcuately formed finger members between an open and closed position. The arcuately formed fingers are employed to scoop up the faeces in a grabbing action, the bag is peeled over the claw mechanism comprising the faeces, and the bag is tied off and disposed of by the operator.
Many of the aforementioned smaller devices, which essentially consist of a shovelling element having a grabbing action, and a disposable bag, are less effective, when the faeces is comparatively large, or less solid.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved pooper scooper devices that are easy to operate, which can be easily and cost effectively manufactured, and which address the aforementioned drawbacks associated with prior art devices.